Conclusion

There is no question that curved ultra-wide displays have become more attractive to gamers seeking maximum immersion in their favorite titles. The extra width, coupled with the wraparound effect provided by the curve, is hard to give up once you’ve experienced it. It offers a significant advantage as well. By encompassing more of the player’s peripheral vision, he or she can enjoy maximum situational awareness. We’ve heard some gaming competitions have even banned them because they give players an edge over their 16:9-equipped competitors.

The consideration then comes down to price and speed. The AG352UCG is less expensive than most monitors in the class, but it will still reduce your bank balance by around $900 at this writing. And you can get more speed from a 16:9 flat panel, running at a higher refresh rate, that costs less. But don’t forget about that contrast ratio. Only a small handful of gaming screens offer a VA screen, and to us, that’s a major factor in any purchase decision.

There are plenty of curved ultra-wide screens with adaptive-refresh and 100Hz. But most of them are IPS, which means you’ll see 1000:1 contrast at best. The AG352UCG weighs in at 1700:1 (sequential) and 1900:1 (ANSI) after calibration, which is higher than nearly any gaming monitor we’ve tested. Add to that an honest 100Hz, G-Sync, and accurate color, and it becomes harder to find a better display.

There are a few ultra-wides that promise faster refresh rates, but they also give up pixel density in the bargain. Reader comments have shown us time and time again that resolution is important to buyers. AOC has listened to users and provided a great balance between pixel density and speed with a 3440x1440 display.

Our complaints here are few. As much as we love OSD joysticks, the AG352UCG demonstrated that they’re not always awesome. Turning off the power every time one mistakenly presses the stick gets old quickly. Plus, it isn’t nearly as intuitive as others we’ve worked with. And without a change to the color temp preset, gamma is off by enough to cause visible clipping. Luckily, that fix is as easy as changing the preset to User.

In addition to its other attributes, we feel the AG352UCG’s build quality and styling is a cut above AOC’s already high standard. The solid-aluminum stand and premium mechanism rank with BenQ and NEC for quality. That’s something we rarely see. We also like the LED accents on the panel’s edge and back. A soft colored glow makes for a nice effect in dark rooms.

There are a lot of curved ultra-wide gaming monitors to choose from right now. AOC has always been a reliable vendor of quality products that represent good value. While still a premium product, the AG352UCG will save you a few bucks over the competition.

AOC AG352UCG

Pros

High-contrast AMVA panel

3440x1440 resolution

1800R curve

Out-of-box color

G-Sync

Build quality

Styling

Cons

Default gamma errors affect image depth

Only 100Hz

No ULMB, poorly-designed OSD joystick

Verdict

A curved ultra-wide gaming monitor is going to be expensive no matter what, but the AOC AG352UCG manages to undercut the competition by a little. No corners have been cut however as this display delivers solid gaming performance courtesy of G-Sync and a 100Hz refresh rate. Color accuracy is quite good, and after an easy change to the color temp, everything lines up right to spec. If you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to add one of these screens to your system, the price/performance ratio has never been more attractive.

Not in the market for an monitor but if I was I'd probably get this one. Good size, resolution, and the 100hz is actually a reasonable mark for people with single gpu solutions. At ultra many games can pull down even a 1080ti into the 60-100fps range at a resolution like this.

AgentLozen

Quote:

If you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to add one of these screens to your system, the price/performance ratio has never been more attractive.

Sounds like this monitor is deserving of an award but it's definitely not there. I suspect that it will pop up in a few hours after a ninja edit.

mihen

I think the issue this monitor faces is quite simple. The price premium on a gsync monitor. I looked at them recently and there is a $200 markup over the FreeSync version. It's just really hard to suggest these monitors when a person is on a $2000 budget for the whole machine when that difference is an entire graphics card tier.

jrocksmooth

As of 11/6/17, Microcenter has this monitor for $799. Fantastic deal for a 35" curved ultrawide 1440p.

still waiting for the next version of the Samsung CHG90 with DP 1.4; If they can get it to 7680x1440@100hz /w gsync then i would buy that and replace my 3 monitor setup i have right now.

Colin_10

It still baffles me that these things are so expensive, there have been monitors at this resolution/frame rate for a few years now and still we are seeing 800 price points. I obviously don't know anything about the difficulty of manufacturing these things but it sure surprises me that price has remained this high for this long. Monitors seem to be one of those things that just doesn't drop in price. Graphics cards get replaced so fast due to advancements in tech that if you don't want to buy a 1080ti for 700 now, wait 2-3 years and you can get the 1260ti for 200 dollars and it has the same performance.

What a great monitor, for a new setup this is great. Sadly it is hard sell for most serious gamers to justify going back from 144Hz to 100Hz. Sure, this is a spectacular looking monitor, it is huge, resolution is decent, curved for immersion and has higher than 60Hz. But 144Hz is a bare minimum for me, and I will only seriously consider it only once it satisfies that target.

dark_lord69

I don't get it...Does it suck your d***?

Tanquen

Curved, why distort the picture more and in a way your brain down like? The games are isometric so you’re just squishing the screen in the middle a bit. ??? 1440 and like a foot tall. 21:9 Wanting a flat 16:10 display in a 32:1 curved world.

uglyduckling81

194916 said:

Curved, why distort the picture more and in a way your brain down like? The games are isometric so you’re just squishing the screen in the middle a bit. ???
1440 and like a foot tall.
21:9
Wanting a flat 16:10 display in a 32:1 curved world.

Actually it's the opposite to your understanding. If the curve is right and your in the right spot the picture will be true. Same distance to your eyes at all points. With a large flat panel you get a distorted view at any point other than directly in front. Becoming more distorted the further out you go. It's why curved panels are a thing, otherwise the ultra wide format would be quite crappy to look at and use. I'm not sure what the squishing is your referring to but it's not a thing. It's essentially just a flat panel picture but adjusted so you get a truer view of the picture.

matthew_258

hopefully 599$ @ Microcenter...i would wait in that line.

hixbot

I want a high refresh rate, gsync, VA panel for gaming with good contrast. Unfortunately the only manufacturer making gaming VA panels, AUO, (who made the panel inside this AOC display) are only making curved displays. Curved is a dealbreaker for me.

cryoburner

2185404 said:

It still baffles me that these things are so expensive, there have been monitors at this resolution/frame rate for a few years now and still we are seeing 800 price points. I obviously don't know anything about the difficulty of manufacturing these things but it sure surprises me that price has remained this high for this long. Monitors seem to be one of those things that just doesn't drop in price. Graphics cards get replaced so fast due to advancements in tech that if you don't want to buy a 1080ti for 700 now, wait 2-3 years and you can get the 1260ti for 200 dollars and it has the same performance.

Except these screens are getting better. A few years ago, gaming-focused VA screens with high refresh rates weren't a thing. If you wanted high refresh rates, you were stuck with TN panels. Since then, high refresh rate IPS screens came out to offer better color accuracy and viewing angles, and now high refresh rate VA screens are bringing up to three times the contrast ratios of TN or IPS panels. Other technologies are being incorporated into these screens to improve image quality as well. Resolution and refresh rate are not the only things that affect the quality of a monitor.

And of course, prices can only drop so far. Compared to something like a graphics card, significantly more materials go into a monitor, and the cost to manufacture a panel of a particular size and resolution generally isn't going to massively drop from one year to the next.

Also, graphics cards are not really a very good comparison right now, due to the shortages and price spikes that occurred this year. The cards we have now are more or less the same ones that were released last year, only most of them cost more now than they did then.

@LUTFIJ That is my question too! I read this entire review and watched it trade punches with the Acer Predator Z301C, yet the Acer received Editor's Choice (isn't that Tom's highest?) while the AOC here received nothing.

Maybe Acer's Tobii Eye tracking put it over the top? Sure, it has higher refresh at 200hz but it's "only" a 30" monitor at 1080p vs this 35" beast at 1440p.

I understand that a 30" ultrawide is certainly in a sweet spot for many folks with video cards in the sub 1080 range, I'm one of them with a GTX 1070. And that is why I'm still considering the Acer. But I'm still leaning toward the AOC here which is no more expensive and feels more future-proof with the higher resolution. If I have to upgrade my video card, I'll accept my fate.